The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You will have to register before you can post or view full size images in the forums.

June/July Lite Entry - The Unangan Empire

Alternative history! Irresistible. And after some thinking, researching, and going through old ideas, I've come up with something that I really want to make.

The currently most popular theory (I think) about how the first humans reached the Americas is that they came from Asia across the Bering Strait on a land bridge that has now disappeared under the sea. Some stayed, some moved on southward. The map I'll make for this challenge assumes that many more stayed, and that the Aleut people (who call themselves Unanga, hence the title) built trading city-states and eventually an empire in the region, with trade routes to China, India, the Inca empire, etc. Everything I know about this subject is from Wikipedia, so it might not become the most plausible alternative history ever constructed, but I like it Hopefully I'll have time to do some more thorough research and make a timeline… hopefully…

Here's what I have so far. I used the simple world map overlay found in G.Projector and made it azimuthal equidistant (because I have a thing for that), then I printed it in three A4 sections, cut into templates, and traced them onto aquarelle paper. For the rivers and lakes, I looked at Google Maps and tried to copy the biggest ones. Not a very accurate method, so that's another thing that is alternative in this map: the rivers took slightly different paths. Anyway, I "inked" the lines with acrylic paint, and that's where I am now. I think I'll be trying a modern atlas style this time.

So, here's the first of probably many deviations from the plan: it's not very modern atlas-y in style at all any more. In fact, it turned out more like an abstract color study. But, could work too.

I failed big time on the piecing together of scans, I scanned it in five sections but I'll probably need six or seven to get rid of the ugly seams and blurriness. But for this early WIP it's good enough, right?

### Latest WIP ###

And maybe a legend is needed: Yellow-green is farmland, green-green is forested, pale green is land outside of the Unangan Empire's borders, and the grey parts are (drumwhirl) mountains. I'm not happy at all with how the foreign territory turned out, too high contrast, so I'll see if I can tone down the mountains in those areas with a thin layer of white acrylic.

Thank you, Leen! I don't think I'll push the highlights on the mountains any further as I want the cities, roads, borders etc. to be in focus in this map, and I think it could be distracting if the mountains stand out more than they do.

I'm probably done with the foundation for the map now; I've painted the sea, pieced together the scanned segments more carefully, added a new graticule (G.Projector-generated, not my sloppy handdrawn!), decreased the contrast and saturation in the whole map, and toned down Russia and Canada. The sea was the only of those things I did by hand actually. I'm going more and more digital

### Latest WIP ###

I'm thinking of placing a cartouche with a legend in the middle of the Bering Sea, a timeline below the map, heraldry of the Unangan provinces above it, a title above that, and a border around everything. About two weeks left now, right? No problem…

I'm thinking of placing a cartouche with a legend in the middle of the Bering Sea, a timeline below the map, heraldry of the Unangan provinces above it, a title above that, and a border around everything. About two weeks left now, right? No problem…

@WillP:
Thanks! It's mostly watercolors, and acrylics for the mountains (as I needed higher opacity there). Pastels could be really interesting to use for mapping though, should give some nice textures. I'll have to try it sometime!

@Diamond:
Thank you! I read sometime about an architect in medieval Constantinople who drew a huge mosque for the sultan (or whatever the ruler called himself), but because it's dome was smaller than Hagia Sofia's dome, his hand were cut of for lack of ambition. Wouldn't want that to happen

And on the topic of… well, the topic, here are the cities and roads of the Unangans (or unangax, if I've understood that bit of their grammar correctly). Also tweaked the colors a little again, warming them up just a tad. I think I'm happy with them now.